


Going Home

by such_heights



Category: Doctor Who
Genre: Episode Tag, Episode: s04e13 Journey's End, F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-07-10
Updated: 2008-07-10
Packaged: 2017-10-17 14:43:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,406
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/177952
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/such_heights/pseuds/such_heights
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Come home, come home, home to my warm embrace.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Going Home

**Author's Note:**

> A coda to 'Journey's End'.

Sylvia stands in the kitchen doorway, watching her daughter.

"All right, all right, alien robots, if you say so," Donna is saying, laughing. "Listen, I'll speak to you soon, yeah? We'll try that new place Jas has been banging on about. And seriously, you need to cut back on the sleeping pills, I'm telling you. Okay then, bye!"

She hangs up, then starts slightly when she catches sight of Sylvia. "What?"

Sylvia shakes her head, just walks towards Donna and pulls her in for a hug, holding her close, fighting to keep her breath steady.

"Mum?" Donna asks, confused. "What is it? What's happened?"

"Nothing, sweetheart," Sylvia says. "Nothing."

\---

Sarah Jane is almost bouncing in her impatience as she waits for the bus to stop. With a quick "thank you!" to the driver she leaps off, racing down Bannerman Road.

"Mistress!" K-9 is practically wagging his tail as he zooms towards her, Luke right behind him.

"You did it!" Luke yells. "Mum, you did it! You stopped the Daleks!"

" _We_ did it," she tells him, and then he's flying at her, so she scoops him up, swinging him around the street.

"We did it! We did it!" Luke crows, throwing his arms out in victory. Sarah Jane starts whooping too, laughing and crying for joy until she's breathless.

\---

Tom sits at the kitchen table, tea between his hands for want of anything else to do. It grew cold half an hour ago. Then there's a noise from the street, and despite himself, despite all the false alarms of the past few days, he stands up and runs to the door.

He reaches the hallway, and she's standing there, Martha, alive and safe and whole. There are others with her, but Tom doesn't see them as she runs up to him, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"My God," he says. "I thought--"

"I always come back, don't I?" she replies. "Always."

She steps back, and now Tom can really see her, the glorious smile on her face, but also the darkness and the shadows that she brings home with her, a little deeper every time.

"Were you . . ." he starts. "Did you bring us home?"

Martha nods. "Later, Tom, we'll talk later." She hugs him again, clinging to him so tightly that Tom can only think that things must have been even worse than he knew.

She breaks away, laughing a little, and turns around to the two men hovering in the doorway.

"Jack, Mickey, this is Tom," she says to them.

One moves forward, grabbing Tom's hand. "Captain Jack Harkness," he says enthusiastically, which produces a giggle from Martha. "Been hearing a lot about you." He turns to Martha, muttering "Nice job there, lady," in an undertone.

"Ah, the famous Captain Jack," Tom replies with a grin. "Heard a little bit about you myself."

Martha coughs. "And this is Mickey Smith," she says. "These two helped us save the Earth."

Tom shakes Mickey's hand. "Then I suppose the least I owe you both is a cup of tea."

Mickey and Jack glance at each other. "Actually," Jack says, "I think we'll be off. But good to meet you, Tom."

Tom nods, and Martha walks over to Jack, where they engage in a low conversation for a minute or two. She then moves to Mickey, smiling, and says, "Reckon I'll see you around, then."

Mickey's eyes widen. "Yeah?"

Martha opens the door and waves them off. Tom stands behind her, clasping her arms, and when they've left the street she turns to him, kissing him softly and muttering words that don't make any sense, not yet. But she's home, the Earth is saved, and they have so much time.

\---

Jack and Mickey stroll through London.

"This all looks so different," Mickey says, staring around him.

"Welcome home," says Jack. "So, Mickey Smith, what are you going to do now?"

Mickey pauses, then says, "Think I'm going to stay here for a little bit. Visit the old estate, see my granddad, all that."

Jack nods. "Torchwood London was destroyed with your Cybermen. But I've got something of my own, a base out in Cardiff."

"Cardiff," Mickey says sceptically.

"Hey! There's a rift in--"

"--space and time, yeah yeah, I know that bit."

"And we . . ." Jack's face darkens for a moment, but Mickey doesn't press, "we need a technical operative, someone who's good with computers."

"And you think - me?"

Jack checks his wrist strap. "My team are one their way. We're going to be in London for a few days, help UNIT rebuild. Talk to them, talk to Martha, have a think."

Mickey nods, still feeling taken aback. "Jack Harkness." he mutters. "Bloody hell, mate, no offence, but you're one person I never expected to see again."

"Heh, likewise - parallel worlds and all that."

"Yeah." Mickey shakes his head in amazement at it all. "So how'd a space-age flyboy like you end up here anyway?"

"It's a long story," Jack says, but when Mickey rolls his eyes he adds, "and Cardiff's a good drive from here, so." He sits down on a park bench, and Mickey joins him. "It started with the Daleks, millennia away from here. Daleks, and the Doctor, and most of all Rose. We were travelling through space, when we found ourselves on an Earth broadcast station, years in your future - Satellite Five . . ."

\---

"He's about half a mile away," Ianto says, guiding the SUV around the next bend.

"And you're sure?" Gwen asks. "You're sure that's Jack?"

Ianto shoots her a look, and she laughs. "All right, I'll stop nagging now." She looks out of the window, unable to help herself beaming, and when she looks over she sees that Ianto's got a matching smile on his face.

\---

Jack stands up. "That's them! That's my team!"

Mickey gets to his feet beside him, but Jack's not paying any heed, because Ianto and Gwen are sprinting towards him. "See?" he calls. "What did I tell you?"

"Oh I am so glad to see you," Gwen says shakily. "They found us, the Daleks, but Tosh, she--"

"That timelock program, she perfected it," says Ianto.

They look at each other, and Jack can see it, the fear and relief, adrenaline still leaving them jumpy.

"It's really over?" Ianto asks.

"Really."

Ianto makes a slight movement that stops when he really registers Mickey for the first time. But Gwen doesn't hesitate, embracing Jack, arms tight around his shoulders, muttering, "Thank God, thank God," against his ear. Jack splays his hands out against her back, his relief more palpable than ever.

She kisses his cheek and pulls back, her eyes very bright. "So," she asks, "who's your friend?"

"Ianto, Gwen, allow me to introduce Mickey Smith, friend of the Doctor. Mickey was with us on the Dalek command ship. Play our cards right, and he might just come work for us."

Gwen shakes his hand, smiling warmly and asking questions, and Jack turns back to find Ianto still looking at him.

"Ianto," he says.

"Next time you go gallivanting off with aliens, you couldn't get the spaceship to drop you a little closer to home, could you? The SUV's clocking up a hell of a lot of miles this month as it is."

"Home," Jack says quietly. "Home sounds good."

Ianto lets out a breath, then takes Jack's collar, pulling him forward, slowly kissing him. Jack breath hitches just a little as he places one hand on Ianto's chest, trying to say the things he doesn't want to find words for. _I'm sorry_ and _I was afraid_ and _I'll always come back_.

Beside them, Mickey raises an eyebrow at Gwen, who just laughs. "Bloody Torchwood," Mickey says, shaking his head.

\---

Rose isn't sure how long they've been stood on this beach, clinging to each other. She disentangles herself from the Doctor, running her hands over the cut of his suit, his heartbeat.

"Brand new you," she says.

"Brand new me."

She breathes deep, because there's so much she's still unsure of. But there are things she does know.

"Out there," she says, looking up at the sky, "there's love and war and life, oceans made of ice and planets of fire, all existing because of one woman. Somewhere, stars are being born, whole civilisations are shooting up into the sky, and somewhere, someone's eating chips."

He laughs, she smiles. She takes his hand. "Come on, Doctor. We've got work to do."


End file.
